Job Discussion Forums

[n00447098]

Hey guys, I've been searching here for a couple days now and just registered today. Basically I'm graduating University pretty soon and planning to get my CELTA. I've always been pretty interested in Mexico and Central America and was wondering what the odds are of finding a relatively short term teaching position there. I'm thinking maybe 3 or 4 months. I've heard it can be harder to get around the 1 year contract in these areas.

Oh, and I'm really looking to be in Oaxaca if possible. Anyone there know how much the rent would be on a 1br? also around 3/4 months.

I've got a little savings, a few thousand USD but I'm looking to keep it short term to decide if I enjoy it and to stay somewhat mobile.

Thanks

[Oreen Scott]

I live in Cuidad de Oaxaca and pay $4,000 pesos for a 2 bedroom furnished apartment in Noria, which is just outside city center (30 minute walk to the Zocalo).

I have a year's lease, so I pay less than I'd pay for a 3 month stay. I didn't see much for under $4,000 when I looked. But, it depends on what you want.

I have a Mexican friend who lived in what was meant to be a small tienda. It's really quite wretched. I expect he'd pay about $1,000 a month.

[Isla Guapa]

Don�t mean to be picky (one of my less endearing traits), but what is an entienda?

[Oreen Scott]

Entienda belongs with didn's :oops:

[MotherF]

My husband rents a furnished room about the size of my office for 300 pesos a month. It does not have a private bath, it doesn't have a window either, but he has a very nice office above the post office, so he only goes to his room to sleep 4 nights a week (then comes home to the hinterland for the other 3) . The room is about 20 minute walk from the Zocalo. There are a lot of places like where he lives, but they are pretty much under the radar of the foreign population, aimed at Mexican students.

[rayzero]

Oreen- I am moving to Oaxaca in a few weeks and will be looking for a place within walking distance to The Zocalo (no more than 30 min walk). My husband's family lives there and is going to search for us a place also but I was wondering if you have any rental contacts- I am looking to get a 'Mexican rental price'

also, any ideas/suggestions on schools in that area where i could inquire about a possible position?

[Oreen Scott]

Sorry, I don't know of any "Mexican rentals" I have a friend who lives very close to Santo Domingo Church. He pays 1,000 pesos a month for a room with a bathroom. The room was meant to be a small store.

It's below basic. It's not a place I'd live and I only visited once. It's horrible.

I pay 4,000 pesos. He's Mexican and says Mexican's pay about 1,000.

Value for pesos I think I'm getting the better deal hands down.

I live about a 45 minute walk from the Zocalo, hence my rent is cheaper than it would be for something similar in el centro.

[ton a bricks]

Rents in downtown Oaxaca are pretty expensive, but a lot of that is the result of wealthy foreigners driving up the prices by not inquiring into what the normal rents should be first. While it could be looked at as giving a boost to the people renting out their places, it also has the negative effect of raising rents in general for Oaxacans. The monthly minimum wage in Oaxaca is about 1,000 pesos, and while earning double that is possible for lots of Oaxacans, it still leaves not much grocery money at the end of the month if a family of four pays three or four thousand pesos rent per month. You can be guaranteed that if you look around and ask in the public markets, you can hear about studio or one bedroom places for between 1,200 and 2,000 pesos, but they may not be furnished. For a short stay a furnished room should be less than 2,000 a month. It is true that a place for 1,000 might be dumpy, but if you spend a bit on fixing it up, it could still be a better deal than paying a lot to someone who only rents to foreigners. I never paid more than 1,900 pesos and lived on the edges of the centre and had decent places but it was true I had to scout around a bit.